The egg crate grille is, like many design features on the car, a departure from recent Corvettes (the C5 and C6 generations.) The new car is the first in the C7 stable.

The egg crate grille is, like many design features on the car, a departure from recent Corvettes (the C5 and C6 generations.) The new car is the first in the C7 stable.

The egg crate grille is, like many design features on the car, a... Photo-5849868.79476 - SFGate

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With the C7 Corvette, we now have a superbly tossable sports car that will do 195 miles an hour, will do zero to 60 in about four seconds, and costs tens of thousands of dollars less than its competitors.

With the C7 Corvette, we now have a superbly tossable sports car that will do 195 miles an hour, will do zero to 60 in about four seconds, and costs tens of thousands of dollars less than its competitors.

With the C7 Corvette, we now have a superbly tossable sports car... Photo-5849869.79476 - SFGate

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The car we drove had bigger tires and other performance enhancements.

The car we drove had bigger tires and other performance enhancements.

The car we drove had bigger tires and other performance enhancements. Photo-5849870.79476 - SFGate

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Taboola Gallery Frame Item-85307.79476 - SFGate

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The rear of the hatchback coupe seems flatter than recent Corvettes and has less glass, and so, perforce, there’s more restricted visibility from inside. If there’s any controversy, it’s over the taillights – going against the Corvette grain of round or elliptical lenses, the new ones are rectangular, much like those on the Camaro. To me, they seemed all of a piece in the newly designed rear end. less

The rear of the hatchback coupe seems flatter than recent Corvettes and has less glass, and so, perforce, there’s more restricted visibility from inside. If there’s any controversy, it’s over the ... more

Our car was a Z51, the performance version of the base Corvette (it adds dry sump oil system, performance suspension and gear ratios, among other things) and had a base price of $53,800. Then Chevy added a whopping $17,165 worth of options – the 3LT package alone, with heated and ventilated leather seats, and a lot other gizmos, was $8,005 – bringing the total price of the car to $71,960, including $995 for trucking it to the dealer. (You’d think GM could pay for getting the product to the store.) less

Our car was a Z51, the performance version of the base Corvette (it adds dry sump oil system, performance suspension and gear ratios, among other things) and had a base price of $53,800. Then Chevy added a ... more

Our car was a Z51, the performance version of the base Corvette (it... Photo-5849872.79476 - SFGate

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Possibly the most important aspect of the new Corvette is that it will seat its driver and passenger in the comfort of a drastically upgraded interior. The interiors of older Corvettes do not hold a candle to the interiors of, say, Porsche or Jaguar or BMW or Ferrari.
Now, with the new Corvette, they do. The seats are a lot better, the plasticky feel is gone, the instruments are easier to look at, the door panels don’t fall apart or start to crinkle and, so far, the seats don’t go into rocking-chair mode. less

Possibly the most important aspect of the new Corvette is that it will seat its driver and passenger in the comfort of a drastically upgraded interior. The interiors of older Corvettes do not hold a candle to ... more

Possibly the most important aspect of the new Corvette is that it... Photo-5849873.79476 - SFGate

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The doors have been completely redesigned and are now cleaner looking.

The doors have been completely redesigned and are now cleaner looking.

The doors have been completely redesigned and are now cleaner looking. Photo-5849874.79476 - SFGate

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Taboola Gallery Frame Item-85307.79476 - SFGate

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The driver's view of the dash, with the navigation screen in the center stack.

The driver's view of the dash, with the navigation screen in the center stack.

The driver's view of the dash, with the navigation screen in... Photo-5849875.79476 - SFGate

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The new car gets keyless entry, a nine-speaker Bose audio system and a heads-up display.

The new car gets keyless entry, a nine-speaker Bose audio system and a heads-up display.